Alex Eala is poised to breach rank 50, another first of the many firsts she monopolizes, only because she is alone in carrying the flag in the women s professional tour. No compatriot to share it with, she is a patriot herself. But she is not lonely, she is virtually embraced by the country like it was her extended family. Figuratively.
Meanwhile, a young sprinter may be the future of track and field, after EJ Obiena calls it a career, hopefully after he medals in the Olympics. Los Angeles could be his last chance. Although he flopped in the worlds this year, in Manila he vaulted to 5.80m, the usual qualification standard in the Olympiad.
Pi Durden Wangkay won the 200m dash in the Asian Youth Games in Bahrain. A foreign sounding name, but he looks every inch a Filipino, without reference to the ruling a presidential candidate is a Filipino by her appearance, among others. The highest court virtually told those who doubt, just look at her, she looks like us. Literally.
Look at Wangkay too. He dashed to gold in 21.76s, a time fast enough for a woman to medal in the worlds or Olympics, but too slow for a man to even qualify. Below 20 seconds is now the currency of victory in the men s 200m. At 16, he still has so much to train for. With her retired athlete mother as coach, he could be a future champion. Just like Lydia de Vega who dominated the Asiad because of brutal fatherly love. Family matters, the verb.
But Carlos Yulo continues to excel despite his family rift. After winning two golds in Paris, he joined social media fray and experimented on fashion not everyone is ready to see. He is however back in his golden form everyone loves to see. This week he vaulted to gold in the worlds. Maybe not perfect, but the landing in the first vault is too precise it may not be reprised, not even by Yulo himself.
This he achieved without the family he comes from, but with a woman he makes a family with. This he achieved after his brother who earlier gave their parents a brand new car is predicted to follow his footsteps in the Olympics.
Some thought it was a shade against the glittering golden boy who virtually severed his family ties on account of money that could not be accounted for. Maybe, but no one knows for sure what exactly happened within the family. They may neither know nor understand how it happened. One thing is known though, Carlos is back on top, despite a family feud unresolved. Leave them alone, savor his mastery, avoid his domestic mystery. Family matters, the noun.